Classrooms open for Grades 10 to 12 only – Minister warns private schools

Classrooms open for Grades 10 to 12 only – Minister warns private schools
Education Minister Priya Manickchand has sent out stern warnings to private schools about the current face-to-face learning arrangement, claiming that this is only for Grades 10, 11 and 12.

This was in light of reports of unauthorized reopening for other degrees at private institutions, the Department of Public Information (DPI) reported. Manickchand acknowledged that while some institutions have the resources to facilitate other degrees, it is currently unsafe.
“Other than the levels we have announced: fourth, fifth and sixth forms or Grades 10, 11 and 12, no school will be allowed to reopen beyond those levels … I know that many of private schools claiming that they have room for redress. social distance and have a means of ensuring that their students wear masks and wash their hands, [but] we cannot allow private schools to do what public schools cannot, ”the subject Minister set out.
If other grades returned to a physical classroom setting, Manickchand said the Ministry would not be able to effectively monitor this progress.
“At the moment, it is unsafe and unhealthy for those schools to reopen. We do not have the capacity to monitor that and the Ministry of Health, at this point, says nothing more than that — levels we have already opened. ”
The Government has been working to engage students more or less, especially as schools have been closed for almost a year. There has been teacher training in the delivery of online education as well as a partnership with Coursera to offer free courses to all Guyanese. An agreement has also been drawn up with Internet providers for teachers to access the teaching platforms for free.
A combined approach was to address the challenges of epidemiological patterns, Internet access, and resource availability through the use of radio, the Internet, the Learning Channel, and working papers. In the hinterland regions, workbooks and materials with limited electricity and Internet access were provided. There were also toolkits with additional textbooks to distribute to students. The Guyana Learning Channel has since expanded its reach and distributed textbooks and worksheets.
Since last year, the Ministry has been assessing the environment of schools across the country, looking at sanitation, ventilation stations and other important aspects of reopening that need to be provided for during a pandemic. Manickchand had said that while they can keep students safe in a classroom environment, transportation and other issues are becoming an issue.
To expand further, it was announced that $ 200 million has been set aside to support the expansion efforts. Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo had indicated that spending the $ 200 million would see better ways to connect with the students.
The limited reopening was made specifically to prepare students who will sit the Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Education (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) exams in 2021.